Fort Gadsden is located on the Apalachicola River in northwestern Florida, and is the site of two past military forts. The site has been known by several other names including Prospect Bluff Fort, Nichol's Fort, British Post, Negro Fort, African Fort and Fort Apalachicola. On the National Register of Historic Places the site is listed as Fort Gadsden Historic Site, and was name a National Historic Landmark in 1972.
Before the First Seminole War in 1817, the War of 1812 was being fought in what was then called Spanish Florida. The British were making a fierce effort to push the Spanish out of the New World, even going as far as training Seminole Indians in hand to hand combat in an effort to recruit them to fight against the Spanish. In 1814 Lieutenant Colonel Edward Nicolls of the Royal Marines brought 100 officers to the Apalachicola River area for just that purpose. He and his men built British Fort and equipped it with cannon, guns and ammunition. Just months after Nicolls and his men completed their mission they were forced to escape the region as the War of 1812 had ended.
Lieutenant Colonel Edward Nicolls left a fully stocked stronghold in the care of 300 newly trained recruits, who were comprised of Seminole Indians, Choctaw Indians and fugitive slaves fleeing from the Spanish. The fort came to be known as Negro Fort from then on, particularly when hundreds more African slaves settled in the surrounding area, knowing it was a friendly place. Unfortunately, Negro Fort was right smack dab in the middle of a 'safe' route to bring supplies into Fort Scott whose purpose was to secure the Spanish Florida border. President Andrew Jackson
Lieutenant Colonel Edward Nicolls left a fully stocked stronghold in the care of 300 newly trained recruits, who were comprised of Seminole Indians, Choctaw Indians and fugitive slaves fleeing from the Spanish. The fort came to be known as Negro Fort from then on, particularly when hundreds more African slaves settled in the surrounding area, knowing it was a friendly place. Unfortunately, Negro Fort was right smack dab in the middle of a 'safe' route to bring supplies into Fort Scott whose purpose was to secure the Spanish Florida border. President Andrew Jackson
Lieutenant Colonel Edward Nicolls left a fully stocked stronghold in the care of 300 newly trained recruits, who were comprised of Seminole Indians, Choctaw Indians and fugitive slaves fleeing from the Spanish. The fort came to be known as Negro Fort from then on, particularly when hundreds more African slaves settled in the surrounding area, knowing it was a friendly place. Unfortunately, Negro Fort was right smack dab in the middle of a 'safe' route to bring supplies into Fort Scott whose purpose was to secure the Spanish Florida border. President Andrew Jackson ordered the destruction of Negro Fort in 1816 through a series of brutal battles.
Hundreds of Indians and former slaves were killed in the skirmishes, but the fatal blow came when the American forces fired a cannonball heated to a red glow into the fort. The so-called "hot shot" struck the powder magazine in the fort and ignited an explosion that killed almost 300 people and any remaining survivors were forced back into slavery. However, in the end the destruction of Negro Fort proved to cost the American military a great deal because it incited so much anger in the Seminole Indians that the First Seminole War began less than a year later.
Fort Gadsden or Negro Fort or British Fort or whichever anyone wishes to call the historic site, is of great importance to American history. It was home to events that routed the course of Florida history and the formation of the southern American states as we now know them. Today the fort is located in the Apalachicola National Forest and preserved by the US Forest Service.
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Hundreds of Indians and former slaves were killed in the skirmishes, but the fatal blow came when the American forces fired a cannonball heated to a red glow into the fort. The so-called "hot shot" struck the powder magazine in the fort and ignited an explosion that killed almost 300 people and any remaining survivors were forced back into slavery. However, in the end the destruction of Negro Fort proved to cost the American military a great deal because it incited so much anger in the Seminole Indians that the First Seminole War began less than a year later.
Fort Gadsden or Negro Fort or British Fort or whichever anyone wishes to call the historic site, is of great importance to American history. It was home to events that routed the course of Florida history and the formation of the southern American states as we now know them. Today the fort is located in the Apalachicola National Forest and preserved by the US Forest Service.
About the Author:
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